The present invention relates to amusement devices and, more particularly, to an electronic, substantially digital, interactive amusement device designed to be worn or carried by a user.
Amusement devices have, of course, long been known. From simple inert objects designed to be handled by a person or passed among people, they have advanced to objects having manipulable mechanical features and, more recently, to objects having electronic features or a combination of mechanical and electronic features. Dolls or figurines provide one good example of this evolution, changing from passive representations of infants to currently available dolls which might include not only positionable limbs and changeable facial expressions, but also sound producing electronic systems.
Currently available amusement devices may incorporate digital technology similar to that used in other digital devices such as calculators. For example, an interactive wristwatch calculator such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,285 (Heinsen et al.) uses electronic, microprocessor based technology, as does the hand-held video game image-projecting and control apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,429 (Nagel), wherein a user holds a housing with arms carrying control elements for interactive control of a video game.
One recent development in electronic amusement devices is xe2x80x9cvirtual toysxe2x80x9d such as the xe2x80x9cTamagotchixe2x80x9d toy made by the Bandai Company Ltd. Other manufacturers of such toys include Casio, Sega and Nintendo. By way of example, xe2x80x9cTamagotchixe2x80x9d is a small electronic device usually hung on a necklace or key ring. It includes a housing and a display of an animated chick. The user has to xe2x80x9ctake carexe2x80x9d of the chick by inputting signals or responding to the display, or the display will disappear. A similar toy is the xe2x80x9cGigaPound Petxe2x80x9d by Tiger Electronics. This toy provides digitally produced animated characters (dogs) and, while the toy is similar to others of the genre, it produces and responds to sounds. In use, when initiated, the user sets a clock, then chooses a character. Button inputs are used to scroll and choose. A choice results in a display and sound, and other choices, input opportunities and results follow.
While these amusement devices represent advances, there is room for improvement. In particular, there is a need for an amusement device which increases the appeal and interactivity of such devices by, for example, appearing to spontaneously produce sounds or visual effects with or without intentional input from the user or observer which provoke or require a response from a person observing the device.
In one embodiment, the present invention is an interactive electronic device, largely an amusement device and largely digital, including a display of animated characters with sound effects housed in a unit to be worn or carried by a wearer or user. The characters and sound effects are interactive with the wearer or user, for example, in response to wearer or user movement or selective actuation (e.g., though a button or touch panel). The interactivity could also be generated by or be responsive to ambient conditions such as sounds (e.g., music or voice), nearby movement, temperature, light level or other conditions or situations.
In one embodiment, the invention may take the form of a wristwatch like device and, in other embodiments, the device may take the form of a pendant, locket, writing instrument or other object.
In one embodiment, the amusement device comprises an interactive system, in turn comprising an electronic system for use with a video monitor or display and an audio component to drive, actuate and control the display and audio components for displaying images and broadcasting sound, wherein a user of the system may interact with the system, and a software controller for carrying out the display on the monitor and the broadcast of sound in accordance with a software program stored in the software controller and in accordance with certain selected input data supplied by the user and certain additional input data stored in another system memory, wherein said certain additional input data is accessed by the software controller in response to an ambient condition.
The interactive device of the present invention provides and encompasses a method for controlling operation of the device comprising providing a visual output on a display, providing an audio output on an audio output device, receiving input from an input device, and controlling the display and the audio output device based on received input. The input device may receive input by being manipulated physically and/or intentionally, or it may receive input comprising an ambient condition and, in response to the input, the method comprises a first mode providing the visual output and a second mode providing the audio output.
An advantage of the amusement device of the present invention is that it increases the appeal and interactivity of such devices by, for example, appearing to spontaneously produce sounds or visual effects with or without intentional input from the user or observer which provoke or require a response from a person observing the device, as well as providing functions such as time/date information.
In some embodiments, the present invention may include a housing taking a form similar to a commonplace object such as a wristwatch, pendent, fob or a writing instrument.